Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Friday 10 December 1999

Scottish Executive

Beef

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the stores at Ratho and Glenrothes which store rendered BSE material are full and, if so, where does it intend to store new material being engendered and which company is being given the responsibility of storing it.

Ross Finnie: The stores at Ratho and Glenrothes that hold meat and bone meal (MBM) derived from the rendering of bovine carcases processed under the Over Thirty Months Scheme (OTMS) are both full. There is a total of 13 sites across the UK holding OTMS MBM safely and securely pending destruction in accordance with EU rules.

  The procurement of additional units to store OTMS MBM is a matter for the Intervention Board. Currently MBM now produced in Scotland under the OTMS is transported south to a store at Barkston Heath in Lincolnshire, operated by Snowies of Stirling. Surplus tallow, the other main by-product of the rendering process, is stored in Merseyside.

Caledonian MacBrayne

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister is aware of any proposals to reduce the number of staff employed by Caledonian MacBrayne or to alter the terms and conditions of Caledonian MacBrayne staff and, if so, whether it will make a statement.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any proposals to reduce the number of staff employed by CalMac. The company is currently negotiating with representatives of employees about the convergence of terms and conditions of Caledonian MacBrayne’s sea-going staff, as part of negotiations in relation to their 1999-2000 pay round. Also the company reviews, from time to time, aspects of its operations with a view to improving efficiency. The CalMac Board is currently considering options for the future delivery of its catering services, including retaining the status quo. No final decisions have yet been taken.

Children

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1004 by Mr Sam Galbraith, what are the reasons why it does not consider that there should be a change to the upper age limit of 60 for membership of children’s panels.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The upper age limit for entry to membership of children’s panels is age 60, while the age of retirement from membership is usually age 65. This reflects our policy that panel members should be peers in age and experience of the families likely to come before them.

Culture

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance, financial or otherwise, it currently gives to the Scottish music industry.

Rhona Brankin: As this information is rather lengthy, I shall write to the Member and arrange for the information to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Domestic Abuse

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used in deciding how and where the £6 million for the Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund will be spent.

Jackie Baillie: All bids will be considered in accordance with the bidding guidance and grants will be made for those projects which best fulfil the aim of developing multi-agency working to improve local service provision.

Education

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that all primary and secondary teachers are fully trained in information technology.

Mr Sam Galbraith: £23 million will be spent in Scotland by the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) to offer training to every teacher and school librarian in the use of ICT in their subject area.

  In addition the Scottish Executive has commissioned a training course aimed at helping primary head teachers plan and manage ICT.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what definition of "full employment" it will use in developing and assessing policies designed to ensure that the conditions of employability, productivity and responsibility recently outlined by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as necessary to achieve the objective of full employment are met in Scotland.

Henry McLeish: Creating the conditions for high and stable levels of employment, and employment opportunities for all so that people are able to fulfil their potential, are major challenges for modern economies, including the Scottish economy.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the number of companies employing 50 or more people in each of the following areas: Darvel, Newmilns, Hurlford, Galston, Stewarton, Dunlop and Kilmarnock.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive’s Scottish Corporate sector figures are produced by the Government Statistical Service using data collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

  Data relating to the specific areas requested cannot be produced without encountering disproportionate cost. All of these areas lie within the East Ayrshire Unitary Authority where there are 95 companies employing 50 or more people. This figure relates to May 1999, the latest figure available.

Enterprise

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce new measures to assist small businesses to raise capital for either new or existing businesses.

Henry McLeish: A wide range of funding schemes are currently available to small businesses through both the Scottish Executive and the wider Enterprise Network, including the new £12 million Business Growth Fund launched earlier this year. We keep these schemes, and the need for any new initiatives, under regular review as part of our wider policy of support for the small business community.

Enterprise

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public money has been invested through Argyll and the Isles Enterprise (AIE) in Bell Woven of Dunoon; whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of how the money has been spent; whether it will outline how much of the money AIE is entitled to claim back as a result of the Bell Woven factory shutting, and whether the conditions on which AIE invested money in Bell Woven prohibited the transfer of machinery from the Dunoon factory to any sister factory in England which was also receiving assistance from public funds.

Henry McLeish: This is an operational matter for Highlands and Islands Enterprise. I will ask the Chairman of that organisation to write to Mr Lyon.

Environment

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the plans are for the continued evaluation and assessment of landfill sites within the Greater Glasgow area.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, as waste regulation authority, monitors to ensure that landfill sites comply with conditions set out in the waste management licence for the site.

  The UK Government and the Scottish Executive are funding a study into possible health effects in the vicinity of landfill sites. The study is being conducted by the Small Area Health Statistics Unit. It is anticipated that the results of this study will be available by the middle of 2000.

Environment

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the permitted maximum daily level of dioxin release is from waste incinerators.

Sarah Boyack: Emissions of dioxins from waste incinerators are not controlled on the basis of a permitted maximum daily level. Except for very small incinerators burning animal remains, all industrial and commercial waste incinerators in Scotland are regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) under the provisions of Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

  Each incinerator is required to operate in accordance with an authorisation granted by SEPA. The authorisation sets down the conditions under which the incinerator is required to operate. Conditions in authorisations are designed to prevent, or where that is not practicable, minimise the release of substances, including dioxins, into the environment. Such conditions include specifying the types of waste that may or may not be burnt; the operating conditions under which incineration may take place; emission limits; and monitoring requirements. Where an incinerator is subject to EC Directives, SEPA is required to include the necessary requirements in the relevant authorisation. Authorisations, monitoring results and details of any enforcement action are available for inspection in the public registers held in SEPA offices.

  Emissions of dioxins from incinerators are required to be kept as low as possible and emission limits are set on a case by case basis. European legislation requires that the concentration of dioxins in the waste gases from new hazardous waste incinerators does not exceed 0.1ng/m3. Emissions of dioxins from all other types of incinerators are expected to be less than 1ng/m3.

Environment

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to Scottish local authorities to assist them in considering applications for the siting of waste incinerators and whether it will place a copy of this guidance in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Sarah Boyack: Guidance for planning authorities is contained in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG)10: Planning and Waste Management and NPPG 6: Renewable Energy . A copy of each of these has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies of all NPPGs are available on the Scottish Executive web site, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/planning/.

Environment

Dr Richard Simpson (Ochil) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its proposals for the regulation and management of organic waste in the light of the responses received to The Scottish Office consultation paper.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is aware of public concern on landspreading of organic waste. This is why the Scottish Environment Protection Agency was asked to prepare the Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land in 1998. The Executive is currently considering the results of a public consultation on the recommendations of the SEPA report in parallel with a review of related exemptions contained in the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. It is hoped to announce the results of the overall review by end of the year.

Environment

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to investigate smells from Paterson’s toxic dump in the light of the Greater Glasgow Health Board’s Public Health Department report on the matter, what plans it has to address local people’s concerns and what practical assistance and/or financial compensation can be made available to the people of Baillieston and Mount Vernon.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), as waste regulation authority, has been investigating reports of smells in the vicinity of Mount Vernon for several months. Investigations indicated two sources of smell at the Paterson’s landfill site: firstly wastes which had recently been brought to the site for disposal, and secondly landfill gases from degrading landfilled waste at the site.

  An enforcement notice was issued by SEPA on 8 October requiring the site operator to take actions to ensure that any waste accepted at the site will not lead to breach of the licence conditions. One of the licence conditions is that "All site operations shall be conducted in such a manner as to ensure that they do not give rise to offensive odours, as perceived by any authorised person of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, West Region, at any point beyond the site boundary." The notice also required action to be taken to avoid the release of landfill gases.

  In relation to financial compensation I refer to the answer to S1O-834.

Environment

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is consistent with its environmental policies for toxic dumping to be carried out within a city boundary, for quantities of human waste being licensed up to 500,000 tonnes a year and 4,000 lorry loads, and for asbestos, arsenic and cyanide to be disposed of within a town or city boundary.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), as waste regulation authority, has responsibility for considering applications for waste management licences and setting appropriate conditions to protect health and the environment.

  Land use planning decisions are the responsibility of local authorities. Planning authorities must in the first instance take account of the development plan, then all other material considerations, including advice from SEPA, when determining planning applications. Where appropriate, environmental impact assessment provides additional advice. All operational landfills require licences from SEPA as well as valid planning consent.

Europe

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make the bid document for Objective 2 funding and the rank ordering of all wards in Scotland that meet EU criteria for Objective 2 funding publicly available.

Mr Jack McConnell: The bid document for all Objective 2 coverage in the UK was that published by DTI, the Scotland Office and other UK Government Departments on 8 October (URN99/1021). On that day I made available to this Parliament the proposals for Scotland, which were based on recommendations from this Executive, including our proposed ward list for Scotland.

  Since then I announced on 2 December some minor modifications to our original proposals in order to better reflect the criteria in the EU Regulation. These documents are available in SPICE.

  There is no rank ordering of all wards in Scotland that meet EU criteria for Objective 2 funding, since the proposals represent a balance between deserving areas in Scotland based on the industrial, rural, urban and fisheries criteria set out in the EU Regulation. In preparing our recommendations we based our proposals on data available from Eurostat, the Office for National Statistics, the General Register Office for Scotland, the Scottish Area Deprivation Index and other relevant material.

Farming

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any assessment of the animal welfare regime for pigs in other European countries as compared with the position in Scotland.

Ross Finnie: No assessments have yet been made. However, it would be our intention to consider systems in other Member States in due course in the context of the review of the EU Directive, 91/630, on pig welfare.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to itemise each level one expenditure line in the Scottish budget as a percentage of GDP for each year for which figures are available.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to the table below which gives level one expenditure as a percentage of GDP and projected GDP.

  


Portfolio main 
  


1994-95 
  


1995-96 
  


1996-97 
  


1997-98 
  


1998-99 
  


1999-2000 
  


2000-01 
  


2001-02 
  




Central Government support for 
  Local Authority expenditure 
  

10.31 
  

9.82 
  

9.25 
  

8.50 
  

8.17 
  

8.18 
  

8.03 
  

7.82 
  



Children and Central Government 
  Education 
  

0.29 
  

0.29 
  

0.31 
  

0.39 
  

0.41 
  

0.46 
  

0.51 
  

0.51 
  



Communities 
  

0.93 
  

0.76 
  

0.62 
  

0.64 
  

0.82 
  

0.77 
  

0.80 
  

0.78 
  



Crown Office 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.07 
  

0.06 
  



Enterprise and Lifelong Learning 
  

2.87 
  

2.74 
  

2.79 
  

2.69 
  

2.57 
  

2.56 
  

2.47 
  

2.47 
  



EU Structural Funds 
  

0.19 
  

0.19 
  

0.21 
  

0.24 
  

0.26 
  

0.24 
  

0.21 
  

0.22 
  



Forestry 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.02 
  

0.04 
  

0.04 
  



Health 
  

6.69 
  

6.53 
  

6.56 
  

6.47 
  

6.57 
  

7.00 
  

6.91 
  

6.93 
  



Justice 
  

0.78 
  

0.73 
  

0.75 
  

0.72 
  

0.69 
  

0.79 
  

0.70 
  

0.69 
  



New Deal 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.01 
  

0.04 
  

0.04 
  

0.04 
  

0.03 
  



NHS and teachers pensions 
  

0.32 
  

0.42 
  

0.35 
  

0.42 
  

0.49 
  

0.40 
  

0.38 
  

0.41 
  



Rural Affairs 
  

0.77 
  

0.83 
  

0.93 
  

0.76 
  

0.78 
  

0.69 
  

0.73 
  

0.73 
  



Scottish Executive Administration 
  

0.26 
  

0.26 
  

0.25 
  

0.21 
  

0.22 
  

0.24 
  

0.22 
  

0.20 
  



Scottish Executive Associated Departments 
  

0.02 
  

0.01 
  

0.02 
  

0.02 
  

0.01 
  

0.02 
  

0.02 
  

0.02 
  



Scottish Parliament 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.09 
  

0.12 
  

0.08 
  



Transport and Environment 
  

0.60 
  

0.56 
  

0.98 
  

0.80 
  

0.73 
  

0.79 
  

0.74 
  

0.73 
  



Unallocated Capital Modernisation 
  Fund 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.00 
  

0.02 
  

0.02

Finance

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated cost will be to its own budget in the event that each of the local authority PFI/PPP road schemes currently under negotiation is allowed to proceed.

Mr Jack McConnell: There will be no additional cost to the Scottish Executive budget.

Fisheries

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to allow scallop fishermen and scallop farmers to sell scallop roe to approved processors.

Susan Deacon: The sale of scallop roe is not generally prohibited unless it is from an area which has been closed to scallop fishing by a Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) Order due to the detection of algal toxin levels above the statutory limit as no part of a scallop can be harvested from such an area.

Fisheries

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of a gonad only test result compared to a whole animal test result for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning in king scallops and why the testing regime in Scotland is different to that in Northern Ireland.

Susan Deacon: There is no difference in the cost of testing the gonad compared to the whole animal for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning in king scallops.

  The testing regime in Scotland is directed to the gonad since research has shown that, of the most commonly eaten parts of the scallop, this tends to have the highest concentrations of toxins. The EU legislation requires that the whole body or any part edible separately is tested.

  The testing regime in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland authorities.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact "bed-blocking" has had on NHS waiting lists in the last year.

Susan Deacon: Since 1 April 1999, Health Boards and local authorities are for the first time working to the same definition of delayed discharge from NHS care. The information that will flow from this initiative will inform what impact delayed discharge has on the organisation of NHS hospital care.

Health

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of the proposals currently being discussed regarding the future of acute service provision for Fife, it would support the most senior position within Fife Health Board being made permanent.

Susan Deacon: I understand that Fife Health Board now has in hand arrangements for the appointment of the general manager post, which is currently filled on a locum basis.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made as to the morbidity and mortality from ischaemic heart disease in Scotland, and how this compares to the corresponding figures for England.

Susan Deacon: It is generally believed that CHD in Scotland is a mass disease, which affects some 500,000 people. As far as mortality is concerned, the most recent figure for Scotland is that in 1998 there were 13,419 deaths from CHD. The latest year for which the information is available for England is 1997. There were 140,559 deaths from CHD that year.

  As the report of the Acute Services Review (June 1998) noted, however, there is a shortage of data on coronary heart disease, especially in relation to morbidity in the community. Better data are essential so that we can assess whether we are meeting all the needs of those with CHD. The Scottish Executive’s CHD Task Force is therefore giving priority to setting up a national CHD database founded on the routine management of patients in primary care.

  In the meantime, the most recently published information on the prevalence and mortality from CHD, although categorised as Ischaemic Heart Disease, occurs in The Scottish Health Survey 1995, published by the former Scottish Office Department of Health and Regional Trends based on data provided by General Register Office (Scotland) and the Office for National Statistics. Those data are summarised below.

  The Scottish Health Survey, which is based on respondants in the 16-24 age group, states:

  "Ischaemic heart disease – The prevalence of IHD was higher in Scotland than in England with the difference being greatest among older informants. Among men, the overall prevalence was 4.0% in Scotland and 2.5% in England. The difference in prevalence was greatest among those aged 45-54 (6.0% vs. 3.0%) and those aged 55-64 (17.0% vs. 10.3%). Among women, the overall prevalence was 2.9% in Scotland and 1.5% in England. The corresponding figures in the 45-54 years and 55-64 years were 3.4% vs. 2.3% and 11.4% vs. 5.9% respectively".

  Age-adjusted mortality rates: Ischaemic Heart Disease (rate per 100,000 population)

  


Year 


Males 
  


Females 
  


both sexes 
  





England 
  


Scotland 
  


England 
  


Scotland 
  


England 
  


Scotland 
  




1994 
  

285 
  

349 
  

230 
  

288 
  

257 
  

315 
  



1995 
  

271 
  

329 
  

218 
  

278 
  

246 
  

302 
  



1996 
  

261 
  

325 
  

211 
  

266 
  

237 
  

294 
  



1997 
  

245 
  

299 
  

200 
  

261 
  

224 
  

279 
  



  Source: Regional Trends Data, Office of National Statistics, GRO (Scotland).

  We are of course taking forward a £15 million demonstration project under the White Paper Towards a Healthier Scotland which will build on international experience in the primary prevention of CHD. That White Paper also set a target of reducing by 50% between 1995 and 2010 the mortality associated with CHD.

Health

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can provide details of where the model of ambulatory and non-ambulatory hospitals has been successful.

Susan Deacon: The ambulatory care model has been successfully developed in various countries: the United States, Scandinavia and England. Such centres offer a day care service combining in one process consultation, diagnosis and intervention, usually by day surgery. They operate on an elective basis, that is they do not carry out emergency work.

  The concept is being taken forward in Scotland as part of the Scottish Executive’s Programme for Government. The relationship between ambulatory and non-ambulatory care in a particular area is of fundamental importance, and was one of the themes explored in a national conference on ambulatory care which the Scottish Executive Health Department organised on 30 November. The guidelines which will then be produced will also address the relationship between the two types of care.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rights are of separated parents to access to their children’s clinical notes.

Susan Deacon: The Access to Health Records Act 1990 gives individuals the right of access, subject to certain specific exemptions, to health records containing information about themselves. Parents may also be entitled to access to their children’s health records. The Act makes no distinction between parents who may be living together or separated. In the case of a child under the age of 16, an application for access to a record may be made by either the patient, a person authorised by the patient or by the child’s parent or guardian. The child’s right to confidentiality, however, must also be considered. A child who, in the opinion of the health professional with overall responsibility for their clinical care, possesses sufficient understanding to give or withhold consent to disclosure of their information enjoys the same rights to confidentiality as any other person.

Health

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the capital allocation and expenditure was in respect of each NHS Trust in each financial year from 1993-94 to date, excluding projects being undertaken under the Public Private Partnership or Private Finance Initiative.

Susan Deacon: The capital allocations to individual NHS Trusts for capital investment in the NHSiS from 1996-97 to date, excluding Public Private Partnerships, are as follows:

  


NHS Trust 


1996-97 Capital 
  Expenditure £’000 


1997-98 Capital 
  Expenditure £’000 


1998-99 Capital 
  Expenditure £’000 


NHS Trust 
  


1999-2000 Capital 
  Expenditure (Provisional) £’000 




Aberdeen Royal Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

9,334 
  

4,401 
  

5,236 
  

Argyll & Clyde 
  Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

2,969 
  



Angus NHS Trust 
  

1,555 
  

1,086 
  

1,297 
  

Lomond & Argyll 
  Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

975 
  



Ayrshire & Arran Community 
  Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

2,896 
  

1,812 
  

1,755 
  

Renfrewshire & 
  Inverclyde Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

998 
  



Argyll & Bute NHS Trust 
  

1,507 
  

699 
  

458 
  

Ayrshire & Arran 
  Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

1,798 
  



Borders Community Health Services 
  NHS Trust 
  

801 
  

351 
  

337 
  

Ayrshire & Arran 
  Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

1,618 
  



Borders General Hospital NHS Trust 
  

2,556 
  

430 
  

1,477 
  

Borders General Hospital 
  NHS Trust 
  

798 
  



Caithness & Sutherland NHS 
  Trust 
  

1,088 
  

1,373 
  

688 
  

Borders Primary Care 
  NHS Trust 
  

4,078 
  



Central Scotland Healthcare NHS 
  Trust 
  

2,715 
  

994 
  

1,399 
  

Dumfries & Galloway 
  Acute & Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

602 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Community 
  Health Services NHS Trust 
  

1,286 
  

497 
  

520 
  

Dumfries & Galloway 
  Primary Care NHS Trust 
  

1,818 
  



Dumfries & Galloway Acute & 
  Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

2,202 
  

583 
  

923 
  

Fife Acute Hospitals 
  NHS Trust 
  

1,569 
  



Dundee Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

3,835 
  

2,135 
  

1,050 
  

Fife Primary Care 
  NHS Trust 
  

2,176 
  



Dundee Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

18,774 
  

10,794 
  

7,301 
  

Forth Valley Acute 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

1,362 
  



East & Midlothian NHS Trust 
  

2,434 
  

1,066 
  

1,258 
  

Forth Valley Primary 
  Care NHS Trust 
  

3,447 
  



Edinburgh Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

3,522 
  

1,455 
  

2,569 
  

Grampian University 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

7,011 
  



Edinburgh Sick Children's NHS Trust 
  

2,106 
  

813 
  

1,143 
  

Grampian Primary 
  Care NHS Trust 
  

2,317 
  



Falkirk & District Royal Infirmary 
  NHS Trust 
  

1,459 
  

639 
  

1,218 
  

North Glasgow University 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

33,716 
  



Fife Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

3,384 
  

1,456 
  

1,421 
  

South Glasgow University 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

6,576 
  



Glasgow Dental Hospital and School 
  NHS Trust 
  

750 
  

646 
  

689 
  

The Yorkhill NHS 
  Trust 
  

761 
  



Glasgow Royal Infirmary University 
  NHS Trust 
  

5,207 
  

1,996 
  

5,685 
  

Greater Glasgow Primary 
  Care NHS Trust 
  

10,193 
  



Grampian Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

4,919 
  

2,637 
  

1,951 
  

Highland Acute Hospitals 
  NHS Trust 
  

1,839 
  



Greater Glasgow Community & 
  Mental Health NHS Trust 
  

7,126 
  

5,985 
  

4,767 
  

Highland Primary 
  Care NHS Trust 
  

2,768 
  



Hairmyres & Stonehouse Hospitals 
  NHS Trust 
  

1,455 
  

637 
  

655 
  

Lanarkshire Acute 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

4,994 
  



Highland Communities NHS Trust 
  

2,908 
  

1,121 
  

1,288 
  

Lanarkshire Primary 
  Care NHS Trust 
  

3,407 
  



Inverclyde Royal NHS Trust 
  

1,825 
  

1,080 
  

1,772 
  

Lothian University 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

32,810 
  



Kirkcaldy Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

5,349 
  

1,487 
  

890 
  

West Lothian Healthcare 
  NHS Trust 
  

3,680 
  



Lanarkshire Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

4,317 
  

2,091 
  

1,191 
  

Lothian Primary Care 
  NHS Trust 
  

10,114 
  



Law Hospital NHS Trust 
  

2,597 
  

743 
  

10,234 
  

Tayside University 
  Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

3,593 
  



Lomond Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

1,666 
  

966 
  

510 
  

Tayside Primary Care 
  NHS Trust 
  

4,099 
  



Monklands & Bellshill Hospitals 
  NHS Trust 
  

3,218 
  

2,919 
  

3,091 
  
 
 



Moray Health Services NHS Trust 
  

4,388 
  

1,313 
  

1,456 
  
 
 



North Ayrshire & Arran NHS 
  Trust 
  

6,768 
  

4,875 
  

3,141 
  
 
 



Perth & Kinross Healthcare 
  NHS Trust 
  

2,218 
  

882 
  

1,429 
  
 
 



Queen Margaret Hospital NHS Trust 
  

1,615 
  

642 
  

711 
  
 
 



Raigmore Hospital NHS Trust 
  

4,881 
  

3,551 
  

2,787 
  
 
 



Renfrewshire Healthcare NHS Trust 
  

1,882 
  

801 
  

1,400 
  
 
 



Royal Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 
  

2,378 
  

751 
  

1,525 
  
 
 



Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh NHS 
  Trust 
  

9,982 
  

7,759 
  

2,400 
  
 
 



Scottish Ambulance Service NHS 
  Trust 
  

7,163 
  

9,766 
  

2,976 
  
 
 



South Ayrshire Hospitals NHS Trust 
  

1,885 
  

678 
  

709 
  
 
 



Southern General Hospital NHS Trust 
  

8,043 
  

4,201 
  

4,151 
  
 
 



Stirling Infirmary NHS Trust 
  

1,634 
  

715 
  

864 
  
 
 



Stobhill NHS Trust 
  

3,097 
  

1,385 
  

844 
  
 
 



Victoria Infirmary NHS Trust 
  

2,895 
  

2,121 
  

908 
  
 
 



Western General Hospital NHS Trust 
  

4,870 
  

3,918 
  

13,049 
  
 
 



West Lothian NHS Trust 
  

2,488 
  

1,089 
  

1,675 
  
 
 



West Glasgow Hospitals University 
  NHS Trust 
  

8,286 
  

5,900 
  

5,333 
  
 
 



The Yorkhill NHS Trust 
  

5,486 
  

4,896 
  

2,075 
  
 
 



  Capital funding is allocated to individual NHS Trusts for expenditure on specifically agreed capital projects and, because of the nature of these schemes, capital slippage is permitted from one year to another to allow completion of the individual projects. Therefore, the amount of capital allocated is in line with actual expenditure for individual projects.

  Capital resources allocated to NHS Trusts between 1993-94 and 1995-96 are not held centrally.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recognise formal qualifications in herbal medicine and regulate its practice.

Susan Deacon: The identification and accreditation of suitable training courses and the recognition of qualifications in any complementary therapy is primarily the responsibility of the professional body or bodies which regulate it.

  The regulation of health professions is a reserved matter. However, I understand that herbal medicine professional bodies have been encouraged by the Government to form a single self-regulatory body for all herbalists, in the hope that in due course the profession may be in a position to apply for statutory self-regulation.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant neurologists are currently in post and how many consultant neurologist vacancies there are in each Scottish health board area.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is given in the following table:

  Consultant Neurologists employed by NHS Trusts

  Distribution by health board area: as at 30 September 1998

  

 

IN POST 
  


VACANCIES 
  




wte 


headcount 
  


numbers 
  




Scotland 
  

31.3 
  

33 
  

2 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

0.2 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

0.2 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Fife 
  

0.3 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Forth Valley 
  

0.4 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Grampian 
  

4.3 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

14.2 
  

16 
  

- 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

0.5 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Lothian 
  

7.6 
  

9 
  

2 
  



Tayside 
  

3.6 
  

4 
  

- 
  



  Source: Medical and Dental Census, ISD Scotland.

  *latest firm data is for September 1998

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2438 by Susan Deacon on 23 November 1999, what plans it has to make nicotine patches available on prescription.

Susan Deacon: We have no current plans to do so. However, an additional £1 million per year in 1999-2000 and for the next two years has been allocated to health boards to spend on smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy. These services will provide counselling, advice and support to smokers who want to give up. A week's supply of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) will also be offered, free of charge to those who can least afford it.

Health

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to implement a self-help initiative similar to the NHS Direct service in time to reduce the number of people attending accident and emergency units over the winter and millennium period.

Susan Deacon: A "freephone" NHS Helpline provides advice on health and local health services. Callers can be given information on how to stay healthy and warm during the winter months. This service will be available over the Millennium holiday period.

  Plans for NHS Direct in Scotland are being developed in co-operation with GPs and will be piloted early in 2000.

Housing

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the transfer of housing stock in North Ayrshire has any implications for the jobs of council staff and in particular whether it is likely to have any implications for the future of the North Ayrshire Direct Labour Organisation.

Mr Frank McAveety: This is a matter for North Ayrshire Council. I understand that the council is currently considering a number of initiatives which may involve the transfer of all or some of its housing stock. In the event of such transfer, it will be for the council to assess the implications for council staff and the Direct Labour Organisation.

Justice

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce drug testing for drivers who are tested for alcohol.

Sarah Boyack: Legislation on drugs and driving is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act. Driving a motor vehicle while unfit through drugs is an offence. The police may take a person whose driving appears to be impaired to a police station for examination by a police surgeon.

  The police however have no powers to test drivers for drugs at the roadside comparable to their powers to test for alcohol. Primary legislation would be required to introduce such a power and it would be for the Westminster Parliament to introduce such legislation.

  The Scottish Executive has recently commissioned research to investigate the prevalence of recreational drug use and driving in Scotland.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify, in relation to the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office, (a) the number of clients serviced in 1998-99 on (i) a directed basis and (ii) a voluntary basis, (b) the number of waivers from direction applied for and (i) refused and (ii) granted, and (c) the number of trials undertaken, pleas tendered and the number of pleas tendered at the trial diet.

Mr Jim Wallace: The PDSO opened on 1 October 1998. By 31 March 1999, it had serviced 318 clients. Of these, 251 were directed and 67 were non-directed.

  In the same period the PDSO received 382 waiver requests, of which 102 were refused and 280 were granted.

  There were seven pleas of not guilty for which evidence was led at trial.

  The breakdown of pleas tendered at a trial diet is complex. This information is not currently available.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the number of clients seen to date by the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office in Edinburgh as part of the pilot project and (a) the number of individual cases conducted, (b) the number of cases prosecuted in which representation was given, (c) the number of guilty pleas tendered at the initial diet, intermediate diet and trial diet and (d) the number of cases proceeding to trial.

Mr Jim Wallace: Excluding clients using the services of the PDSO under the duty solicitor scheme but not continuing with the PDSO, as at 12 November 1999, the PDSO had seen 682 clients, in respect of whom they conducted 1,053 individual cases.

  Information on the number of cases in which a decision to prosecute was taken and which involved representation by a solicitor from the PDSO is not held in this form.

  Information regarding guilty pleas tendered against charges by clients represented by a solicitor from the PDSO is provided in the table below:

  

 Initial 
Pleas (including custody diets) 

228 pleas of guilty 
  


 

6 pleas of guilty 
  to a lesser charge 
  


 

17 pleas of guilty 
  under deletion of part of charge 
  



Intermediate Diet 
  

71 pleas of guilty 
  


 

23 pleas of guilty 
  under deletion 
  


 

2 pleas of guilty 
  to a lesser charge 
  



Trial Diet 
  

63 pleas of guilty 
  


 

19 pleas of guilty 
  under deletion 
  


 

2 pleas of guilty 
  to lesser charge 
  



  By 19 November 1999 the number of cases which had proceeded to trial, i.e. where evidence was led, was 66.

Local Government

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is and whether it has issued any guidance on the letting policies of public authority controlled or council grant-aided halls and meeting places to ensure that there is no local authority political bias against bodies of different political views hiring accommodation.

Mr Frank McAveety: The letting policy of each public authority controlled or council grant aided hall and meeting place is a matter for that public authority.

Ministers

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official engagements of the Minister of Finance for each day since his appointment to the present and those planned until the end of the year.

Donald Dewar: Information on specific public engagements made by Ministers is available through the Information Directorate of the Scottish Executive. The diaries of Scottish Ministers are not published as a matter of course: it is important that legitimate organisations and interests are able to speak privately to Ministers without their confidentiality being compromised. We would, however, be happy to respond to questions about specific events or contacts with specific organisations.

Parliamentary Business

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many announcements it intends to make over the October recess, why in each case the announcements have not been made when the Parliament is in session, and whether, when Parliament resumes, there will be special provision made to allow Ministers to be questioned on those announcements.

Donald Dewar: The Scottish Executive continues to work and make announcements about its work throughout the year including during recess. Some announcements are timed to take advantage of topical and high profile events such as Scotland Week in Brussels. Members have the opportunity to engage Ministers on any announcement through Parliamentary Questions and at Question Time every week when Parliament is in session.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been made of the rise in time off in lieu accruing to prison staff as a result of the recently imposed cessation of recruitment in the Scottish Prison Service.

Mr Jim Wallace: There has not yet been any effect, as the next intake of officers were not due to become operationally available following their initial training, until 20 December.

Rural Affairs

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the criteria are which must be considered prior to decisions regarding closure of rural schools.

Peter Peacock: Decisions must depend on the merits of individual proposals. In reaching decisions, education authorities should take account of all relevant considerations, including educational, financial and community issues.

Student Finance

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the number of students making a contribution towards their tuition fees who will pay (i) £994; (ii) £995; (iii) £996; (iv) £997; (v) £998; (vi) £999 and (vii) £1,000.

Henry McLeish: The information requested is shown in the table below. Figures quoted are for academic year 1998-99, the last full year for which data is available.

  


Amount of contribution 
  towards tuition fees (£) 


Number of New 
  Scheme Students1 




994 
  

7 
  



995 
  

5 
  



996 
  

3 
  



997 
  

7 
  



998 
  

3 
  



999 
  

4 
  



1,0002


8,045 
  



  Notes:

  

New scheme 
  students are those students entering a full time course of higher 
  education in 1998-99, or later, who are liable to contribute to 
  a means tested tuition fee.


Shows those 
  students who have been means tested and are required to pay full 
  tuition fees themselves.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made, or will make, to Her Majesty’s Government in relation to the introduction of an "open skies" policy for cargo flights to and from Scotland, and the institution of a comprehensive bilateral agreement with the USA to eradicate any disadvantage businesses in the West of Scotland face in comparison to competitors in mainland Europe.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government over a range of matters. We welcome the recent decision to open up Prestwick Airport to US cargo carriers and hope that this will improve the competitiveness of Scottish business.

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will release all documentation and correspondence relating to the consideration of whether to allow Highland Council to erect road signs in Gaelic and English.

Sarah Boyack: I will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) Highland Council’s letter to the Scottish Office Minister for Housing, Transport and European Affairs, received in December 1998, my Private Secretary’s letter of 20 August 1999 to Highland Council and my letter of 6 October 1999 to the Council conveying my decision on the Council’s request to permit the erection of road signs in Gaelic and English.

Transport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from Highland Council regarding the decision to allow it to erect road signs in Gaelic and English.

Sarah Boyack: I met representatives of Highland Council on 4 October 1999 when the issue of bilingual road signs was discussed.

Transport

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce a safety campaign to highlight the danger of over-filling diesel tanks, given that diesel and oil spills on roads have led to a number of fatalities on roads in the North East this year.

Sarah Boyack: Data on injury road accidents are recorded by the police on statistical returns to the Scottish Executive which provide details of the circumstances of an accident, together with information about each vehicle involved and each person injured in the accident. The results of these returns are published annually in Road Accidents Scotland , copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Information about contamination of the road surface by oil or diesel was added to the accident report form this year, and so is not shown in the current edition of Road Accidents Scotland .

  The returns received for the first nine months of 1999 show that there were three injury accidents, one of which was fatal, in the Grampian Police area in which oil or diesel was reported as being present on the road. This represents 0.4% of injury accidents in the area over the same period; and the data do not indicate whether the fuel spills caused the accidents.

  In the absence of data linking diesel and oil spills to road accidents, and given the low incidence of accidents at which oil or diesel are reported as being present on the road, the Scottish Executive has no plans to change the present targets of its road safety campaign. This concentrates on drink driving and speeding, known major causes of fatalities and serious injuries.

Transport

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Transport and the Environment will meet with Railtrack and the train operators to discuss safety on the Scottish rail network.

Sarah Boyack: Under schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, the provision and regulation of railway services, which includes rail safety, are reserved matters. These are the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.

  I met with Virgin Trains on 1 November, ScotRail on 3 November, Railtrack on 8 November and Great North Eastern Railways on 19 November and received briefings on measures they will undertake to improve safety.

Transport

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received from Midlothian Council a quantified cost benefit analysis of the proposed upgrading of the A701, including outline costs for the project and for alternatives to the project.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive received from Midlothian Council an outline business case for upgrading of the A701 as part of developing a PFI specification for the project. The outline business case includes a quantified cost benefit analysis, an assessment of the upgrading options and outline costs for the project.

Transport

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how Midlothian Council intends to finance the proposed upgrading of the A701.

Sarah Boyack: The Council intends to finance the project by conventional procurement methods. £2.5 million capital consent awarded from the previous Government’s Transport Challenge Fund continues to be advanced to the Council on the agreed phased arrangements to set against total costs.

Transport

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what options will be investigated in relation to the upgrading of the A8000 and in particular whether these options will include (a) increased tolls on the Forth Road Bridge, (b) tolls on the road itself, (c) joint management and operation of the Forth and Kincardine crossings and relevant road links and (d) increased financial assistance to the relevant local authorities.

Sarah Boyack: The A8000 is a local road and responsibility for its upgrading therefore rests with the City of Edinburgh Council. I recently met representatives of the City of Edinburgh Council and others with a direct interest in transport across the Forth estuary to discuss the A8000 and a range of other issues.

Transport

Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive why improvement to the A8000 was not included in the Strategic Roads Review, given its potential cost benefit ratio in relation to some of the schemes included.

Sarah Boyack: The A8000 is a local road. Given the pressures on the trunk road budget, I concluded that it would not be appropriate to expand the trunk road network. This approach has been applied consistently e.g. to the extension to the M74, the other local authority proposal examined in the review, the planned Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road and the A801.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis it has chosen to designate the M74 a local rather than a strategic road.

Sarah Boyack: The M74 Northern Extension was first proposed by Strathclyde Regional Council and has been taken forward by Glasgow City and South Lanarkshire Councils as successors to Strathclyde Region. No government, past or present, has given any commitment to designate the proposed route a trunk road. A strategic route through Glasgow is already provided by the M8, which was incorporated into the trunk road network on 1 April 1996. The Executive is committing very significant resources to the M8 through Glasgow, including a £30 million programme of structural repairs on the Kingston Bridge, to address the inherited problems. The M8 through Glasgow is used by high volumes of local traffic, including a significant element of commuting by car. The Strategic Roads Review appraisal shows that the M74 Northern Extension would have a similar mix of strategic and local traffic. The need for additional motorway capacity across the city has to be considered in the context of the Local Transport Strategies which Glasgow City, South Lanarkshire and all other Councils in the area have been asked to prepare. The authorities concerned are best placed to assess the contribution which the M74 scheme can make to the delivery of these strategies and to address the significant impacts inevitably associated with any urban motorway.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it anticipates will be the net loss or gain in jobs and investment in the west of Scotland if the M74 Northern Extension is not built.

Sarah Boyack: The recent report by the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (SACTRA) on Transport and the Economy highlighted the complexities associated with analysing the local economic impacts of transport schemes. They cautioned against exaggerated claims for the significance of such impacts, and argued that studies of local economic development impacts should take full account of the likely displacement of jobs from other areas. The report set out a number of recommendations on how such studies should be carried out. The Executive is currently considering, with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the implications of the SACTRA report for its future appraisal methodology.

  The appraisal carried out for the Strategic Roads Review indicated that the M74 Northern Extension would be likely to have an overall positive impact on the local economy. At this stage, it is impossible to be more precise than this.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1667 by Sarah Boyack on 20 October 1999, what financial assistance it will give to South Lanarkshire Council to meet the cost of blight claims on the land designated for construction of the M74 Northern Extension.

Sarah Boyack: Since 1996-97, local authorities have received a block allocation to cover expenditure on all their non-housing capital programmes including Roads and Transport. This method of allocating resources is by agreement with CoSLA. Authorities can also use capital receipts and revenue to meet capital spending needs. It is up to authorities to determine spending priorities from the total resources available to them.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it would expect a decision not to proceed with the M74 Northern Extension to have on the growth of traffic through Glasgow Airport.

Sarah Boyack: I have asked Glasgow City and South Lanarkshire Councils to take forward proposals for the M74 Northern Extension in the context of their Local Transport Strategies and in co-operation with other authorities, including Renfrewshire. These strategies should aim to improve access, including public transport access, across their areas and to reduce congestion, thus increasing the reliability of journey times. Such strategies should improve access to Glasgow Airport and assist in its development.

Transport

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if Glasgow and South Lanarkshire councils produce a funding package allowing them to start preliminary work on constructing the M74 Northern Extension, it will consider providing any additional matching funds and what input it will encourage from North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire councils.

Sarah Boyack: As noted in the report on the Strategic Roads Review, published on 4 November, the Scottish Executive proposes to meet Glasgow City and South Lanarkshire Councils to discuss the M74 Northern Extension. I expect the meeting to consider funding issues and the input of other councils with an interest in the scheme.

Transport

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, if the proposed M74 Northern Extension was to be funded by private finance, how much, and over what period, it estimates the project would cost council tax payers in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.

Sarah Boyack: No such estimates have been or will be made by the Scottish Executive.

Transport

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any studies comparing the economic and environmental impact of the construction of the proposed M74 Northern Extension and alternatives to this project, in particular the further development of rail passenger and freight services across Glasgow, are being or will be undertaken.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether cost-comparative studies of alternatives to the construction of the proposed M74 Northern Extension will be undertaken prior to approval being given to this project.

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed M74 Northern Extension complies with its guidelines for local authorities on local transport strategies.

Sarah Boyack: When I announced the conclusions of the Strategic Roads Review on 4 November, I indicated that the City of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire Councils should take forward consideration of the M74 Northern Extension, involving neighbouring authorities and other bodies with an interest in the scheme. I emphasised that the road would have to be consistent with and justified on the basis of the contribution it could make to the local transport strategies of these authorities. I also said that I would be urging the councils to carry out a multi-modal study of the route. This would allow the economic and environmental impacts and the costs of alternative transport solutions to be considered.

Water

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial or other assistance is available to members of the public who wish to alleviate health hazards resulting from poor quality drinking water being supplied to their homes.

Sarah Boyack: Strict standards to protect public health are set out in drinking water quality legislation. Robust systems, involving the local authority, the health board and the water authority, are in place to ensure that public drinking water supplies are wholesome. Health hazards can arise from domestic plumbing which is the responsibility of the owner of the property. If concern relates to lead plumbing, discretionary repair grants may be available from the local authority to assist householders with lead pipe replacement. Local authorities have a duty to monitor the quality of private water supplies in their area and discretionary repair grants may also be available to members of the public served by private water supplies.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether, in view of the possible fundamental alteration to the Holyrood project represented by any proposal to demolish Queensberry House, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will initiate immediate and full re-evaluation of the feasibility and cost of the project.

Sir David Steel: My report to MSPs of 1 December 1999 noted that preliminary work on Queensberry House has revealed it to be in a poorer condition than expected. The SPCB is awaiting the results of detailed specialist investigations and the associated cost estimates of remedial works. There are no plans to demolish Queensberry House. The SPCB will continue to keep MSPs informed about the Holyrood Building at key stages in the project. The approved costs and timing estimates remain in place and MSP’s would be notified of any change in these.